Evangelion New Realities
by Marine Brother Shran
Summary: What if various aspects of Shinji from the anime, manga, and various fics were to roll into one being? What if the others were to recieve the same treatment? How would it turn out? This is my rendition of that idea, Evangelion New Realities. SR OOC


**Evangelion New Realities**

**Chapter I All's Right with the World**

**No I'm not dead, and I haven't given up fanfiction. However with college and my job it's hard to find any time to write these days. But I'll try to update my fics but I make no promises, as the only time I'd have to do any writing would be at school during any breaks I can have throughout the week, which is a bit tricky as I have to pick certain courses in order to transfer to University. Anyways with that aside onwards to the story.**

**It's just an idea that came to me, that and it's an idea that has been played over and over again by plenty of authors. I'd just like to join the masses, and see how this turns out with my own rendition of this idea: Take Shinji's character, throw it out the window, and introduce a completely new Shinji. That is the general norm. However I am going to do my own spin-off and still maintain the qualities that made Shinji, such as his fears and insecurities, but instead throw in a more confident version who's at least willing to try and open himself up more, albeit still fearing pain, but willing to take the chances. That and throw in a few abilities such as combat and observational skills.**

**As for the others I'll leave that for you to find out as you read the chapter. And so I present, Neon Genesis Evangelion New Realities.**

Tokyo-3, Japan, heart and capital city stands proudly tall upon Earth as the pinnacle of human creations. Normally such a city would be considered a mighty accomplishment, not the ultimate accomplishment. One may wonder, "Why is Tokyo-3 the greatest of human creation, when such a title normally falls upon the Americans?" The answer to the question is simple, the year is 2015, fifteen years after the disaster known as Second Impact, when the 1st Angel known as Adam had awoken and decimated Antarctica flooding most of the world wiping out most of humanity off the face of the Earth in one fell swoop.

Occurring on September 13, 2000, the disaster destroyed much and left little behind. Humanity was crippled that day destroying countless of humans and human creation, burying much of the Earth under a layer of ocean for which no normal human would survive. Many places as the east and west coasts of Canada and United Stated, Vietnam, Britain, Spain and the like were flooded and destroyed, taking with them underneath the deep blue the lives of all those populating the countries. Many lost loved ones and material objects on that day. Many became homeless and orphaned while others survived the encounter but suffered from the lack of resources necessary to survive long term. Much of the world was not spared from the disaster but those who did prospered and shared that prosperity to those who needed it most. Japan was one of them sharing whatever resources they could.

However before such gracious actions ever took place the world had been much different. Following the incident known as Second Impact, caused by a meteor from the public's eye, war soon spread as people fought for supplies and such. The resulting wars resulted in a short 5 month war, but had resulted in the destruction of much of humanity, adding to the damage already inflicted upon the world by Second Impact. In short humanity had doomed itself in its own selfish desire to survive. What was once a planet populated by 6 billion had been halved in 5 to 6 short months following Second Impact, and sadly the population continues to decline as the birthrate in recent years have begun to decline.

For 14 years after all wars had ceased on the 14th of February 2001, the world has lived in peace. The UN continues its actions in attempts to maintain the world while others try to carry out the will of the UN. For fourteen years the Earth has reached a level of prosperity that had once been unconceivable by those who had suffered greatly from Second Impact. Slightly more advanced than before, humanity has begun to rebuild itself and once again stand proudly upon their planet that was their home. Over the fifteen years after Adam not an Angel had ever shown up again. All was right with the world until today. Today the Angels had returned.

Within the confines of a small city a young boy, with well cropped chestnut hair and cobalt blue eyes listened to the phone speak of a state of emergency. Not finding much information in terms of the emergency he let out a sigh and hung up the phone and stared off into the distance wondering why his father would wish to summon him. It wasn't like his father was going to be pleased with his arrival, but he figured where he lived was not much better and figured he may be able to do better in Tokyo-3, even if it was in the same city as his father.

His eyes suddenly trained themselves upon the image of a young girl before him. Appearing to be no more than 14 years of age, the girl's pale complexion seemed to accentuate the mop of blue hair that surrounded her face. Dressed in a middle school uniform the boy's mind began to wonder who the girl was. But before he could make out her face the cries of crows drew his attention for a moment, before he looked back to find she was gone. In a daze his mind wondered if he had seen a mirage or if she was real. As he tried to figure things out in the distance the air was bombarded in a great cacophony of gunfire and explosions as in the distance VTOLs rose and engaged a massive being.

Before them lumbering into the small city a being of unparallel power looked upon its foe in curiosity seeing how such a insignificant being could even do as much as attract its attention. As it wondered it felt its attention suddenly drawn to a painful stringing sensation on its core as some cylindrical object impacted it and exploded. Now angered it moved to attack, firing a lance through one of its hand, destroying the insect.

The boy for his part could only watch in awe as the military forces continued their assault trying to being the creature down but of no avail as it continued to shrug off its attacks as it slowly began picking off the vehicles one by one. His attention was suddenly drawn to a blue car that had skidded and halted inches before the boy, with the passenger side facing him, revealing its driver. The boy could only stare in awe at the beauty of the woman who drove. Wearing a pair of shades, and hair of a magnificent shade of lavender, the woman had a body fit for a king, with the greatest of curves defining her very being, her presence. And in combination with the black sleeveless, high collar dress she wore he wondered if she was an angel sent from heaven to guide him through his troubled life.

"Sorry I'm late," the apparition of beauty spoke. "Get in so we can get out of here." Wasting no time, the boy picked up his duffle bag, took of his backpack and threw them both into the back as he sat down and closed the door. Following his entry and the secured knowledge of the close door the woman stepped on the accelerator speeding away from the combat no sooner then when the creature's foot had stepped on the very ground they had only been on moments prior. As she drove, the boy looked at the passenger side mirror, displaying the battle occurring behind them. Seeing the last of the VTOLs destroyed the boy wondered if there was going to be a force that would be able to stop such a being.

"So where are we going?" the boy asked, finally breaking the silence that had lasted for what seemed like hours for in reality only lasted 10 minutes.

"Just a moment," the woman replied as she halted the vehicle and looked out the passenger window to observe the battle. Seeing the VTOLs that had recently arrived to assist veer away from the creature, her mind instantly clicked in realisation from the sign.

"Get down!" she bellowed as she pulled the boy into her embrace and covered herself over the boy. No sooner did she cover the boy and braced herself the Earth rocked as an almighty bang reverberated through the Earth creating tremors throughout, the initial blast destroying everything, as the shockwave rippled from the epicentre, rending everything in its path be it man made or nature. As it passed everything from railings to trees were upturned and thrown aside like a rag doll, tumbling away from the epicentre with no intended direction, at the mercy of the shockwave. The vehicle was tossed aside as it rolled before finally landing on the driver side, its mass and distance great enough to maintain its balance. Inside the passengers carefully brought their heads up from the passenger window as they looked on at the aftermath of the explosion.

Wasting no time, the woman clamoured out of the vehicle, quickly followed by the boy. Facing the roof of the vehicle both leaned against it and pushed hard, before it finally gave in and tipped over. Proud of their work, she dusted her hands clean as she turned to the boy.

Smiling at the boy she spoke, "Thanks for your help."

"It was my pleasure, Katsuragi-san," he coolly replied, returning the gesture.

"You can call me Misato," the woman replied removing her shades, revealing the entirety of her face, revealing the angel hidden, along with her soft hazel eyes.

"Nice to meet you, Ikari Shinji," she added.

"Same here," Shinji replied.

Letting out an exasperated sigh Misato looked back upon the wreak that was now her car and thought up of how to repair her vehicle. Looking around she noticed an abandoned car shop and went in. After a moment of exploring she happened upon a decent collection of car batteries that would be able to start up her vehicle. Wasting no time she asked for the boy's help and they soon were on their way to the heart of Tokyo-3. Spending most of the drive in silence the two of them evaluated one another.

Shinji saw Misato as an interesting woman who had a few facets of herself. There were some things about her that she kept to herself while she had a side of her that everyone would know about, while the other side only a select few would know. She had scars all over her, but most were hidden deep within her soul never to be known only to the heart of the one man she would open herself to. He saw a woman although quite secure about herself was quite insecure about her feelings towards certain people. To whom he could not be sure but he knew it was there, just hidden deep within her soul that he hope he might be able to learn of. If there was something he had learned growing up was that he didn't like seeing people in pain. He would do all he could to help them, or so he told himself. Although never in a situation where he would back up his private oath he hoped he would carry it out with conviction and honour.

Shinji although seemingly timid seemed to hide an inner strength Misato noted. Although from his profile which she had discreetly hidden stated that he was weak minded and was cowardly, she thought that maybe it was because of his insecurities about himself, and the fact he never had any emotional support from any family. But although the notes of his cowardice were from doctors who evaluated him in the office, the reports from those who had kept tabs on him within the last year spoke differently. Although he had shown a lot of fear he had been able to put his fears aside and helped those who needed help, such as his neighbour's daughter who was about to be run over, or when a child wanted their kite down. She saw someone who would act with conviction when rightly motivated and would see it through the end. She hoped that he would be able to see what he was about to enter through to the end for she knew what they were about to enter would be a great strain on all those around them.

Feeling a little unnerved by the silence Misato decided to end and speak up, "Hey what's with the boring attitude? You look so calm despite your pretty face."

"There's nothing to really talk about, Misato-san," Shinji quietly replied, looking out the window.

"What's that supposed to mean? Of course there's plenty to talk about. Oh…" a seemingly knowing smirk formed on her face. "Unless of course you're thinking of a pretty girl back home whose capture your heart?"

"It's nothing like that Misato-san," the boy sputtered, caught off guard by the comment.

"Are you sure? You do have that far away look on your face."

"And are you sure you're just not jealous because I look like I have someone while you're alone?" he countered. That response resulted in a frown on Misato's part before she started swerving the car back and forth. Needless to say Shinji learned his lesson to keep his mouth shut whilst riding with Misato. Soon entering a tunnel they stopped in front of a door with half a fig leaf overtop the word NERV while underneath the symbol, was the phrase, "God's in his heaven, All's right with the world"

"The special agency, NERV?" Shinji asked?

"Yes, a special organisation directly attached to the United Nations," Misato calmly replied.

"It's the one my father belongs to, isn't it?" he vehemently spat out.

"Well yeah," she cautiously replied. "You…don't seem to care much for your father do you?"

"Wouldn't you if he left you alone, cold, hungry, and with only the clothes on your back, without a second glance, after just leaving you in front of someone's house?" he coldly replied. "I was only lucky my adopter was kind enough to try to raise me despite his busy life, and I'm grateful. But he knew he couldn't raise me properly. But at least he tried whenever he was home, and it was during those times I cherished most, and learned most."

Misato stared at the boy in awe. Here he was supposedly a mentally damaged boy, talking about a half-decent life that would be healthy for a boy like him if he were able to have someone who could have spent more time raising the boy. Supposedly he was supposed to have been living with a corporate owner who was busy, but here with her own ears and from his mouth, she was told that the owner actually spent time with the boy, but on a limited basis due to time constraints. She had to applaud the man for doing a good job considering his life. Though she had yet to see more of Shinji, but she already liked the boy sitting in her passenger seat, and hoped to see more of him.

"By the way, were you given an ID by your father?" Misato asked, hoping to get off the subject of his father and lighten the mood.

"Oh yes," he quickly replied, his mood immediately shifting from the dark brooding entity back to the young boy she had met just a while ago. He quickly reached back and grabbed his bag going through it until he pulled out a piece of paper with most of its contents blacken out save for his name and a number of sorts with a card attached, and handed it to Misato. Seeing as there wasn't much to look over Misato pulled a book from the side of her set and handed it to the boy.

"Welcome to NERV," he read aloud as he took the book. Not really caring to read it at the moment, he placed the book atop his backpack which sat on his lap.

"I thought as much," he growled. "He just has some sort of use for me. He'll probably want me to go home when this is all over." Misato noted the extreme change in attitude in him and began to worry that he might do something irrational towards him. She wondered how deep that hatred ran and feared for the worst if his father did anything that would anger the boy.

However his attention was soon drawn away from the issue of his father as the railcar revealed what lay underneath the city of Tokyo-3. Below bathed in the warm artificial glow of the afternoon sun was the geo-front. Home of NERV the fast land radiated a beauty that had been long lost by Earth. Lush trees covered most of the Earth as the crystal water glimmered in the late afternoon sun reflecting the city roof above. Shinji stared in awe absorbing the brilliant sight before. Him he had heard of such things as a geo-front but today was the first time he had every seen such a thing. Such awe and beauty before him had enraptured him to the point any thoughts he had about the man he called father had been wiped out from his mind he tried to absorb everything around him.

Eventually they had reached NERV itself and travelled through its cold interior as they tried to find their way towards the cages where they were supposed to meet. Seeing as the unless travel a waste of time, Shinji offered to try his hand, and soon enough were on the elevator they were supposed to take when they were greeted by the sight of the first person they've seen since entering the complex.

The woman stood before them clad in merely a lab coat and teal swimsuit, the blond woman stepped in with an amused smirk on her face as she berated Misato for using resources that did not exist. Misato for her part could only smile dumbly and issue a small sorry for her incompetence, although never truly admitting her incompetence.

Noting Shinji's presence she turned to him, "So this is him? The Third Children?"

"Hai, Third Children Ikari Shinji," Misato replied.

"Pleased to meet you," Shinji calmly replied, extending his hand out.

"Pleased to me you too. I'm Akagi Ritsuko the supervisor of Project E," Ritsuko replied, shaking his hand.

Just from the shake of her hand, the way she looked at him with her forest green eyes, and the fake blond hair, Shinji already felt a bad vibe from the woman. He couldn't put his finger on it but he felt that there was something about her that he didn't like, and everything she touched seemed to radiate some dark aura. Although her essence didn't permeate itself from all the objects around him her presence was there. He thought nothing of it now for he knew that he could do nothing about it for now, so he pushed it aside for a later date.

As Ritsuko and Misato talked about things, such as O9 system, preparing a Unit 01 for combat, B-Type equipment and such, Shinji's mind was mildly curious about the fact he was addressed as the Third Children. If he was the Third Children, who were the First and Second Children he wondered. He also pondered if he was the Third subject or Third candidate for something. Perhaps his answered were only answerable by his father. Although hated to admit it, there were times he knew he would have to turn to the man who disgraced the title father, to answer questions at times. He knew he would not like it but he had no other choice but to ask him when needed.

Without realising it he was engulfed by darkness as the doors behind him closed. Frantically looking about for a light source, the room suddenly bathed itself in artificial life. Reorienting himself the first thing his eyes laid its eyes upon was the face of a massive purple being, its enormous white eyes seemingly piercing into his soul as it stared back.

"A giant robot…" Shinji whispered. "Is this what my father's been working on this whole time?"

"That's right," a voice replied over the speakers. Looking up above the head of the behemoth inside a chamber, stood the last person Shinji had ever wanted to see. Inside the room stood the dark figure known as Ikari Gendo, the commander of NERV and destroyer of Shinji's childhood life.

"It has been a while."

"Father…" Shinji whispered angrily. "What is this? You abandoned me for this?"

"What you see before you is a manmade all purpose battle weapon, and humanity's last chance for survival. The multi-purpose humanoid fighting unit, EVANGELION," Gendo coolly replied. "Standing before you is Test-Type Unit 01, built in secrecy hidden from the world."

"Unit 01…" Shinji muttered, looking at the eerie machine in front of him. Already he didn't like the machine that stood before it. It was the very thing that took away his father, and his chances of having a family. If he had a choice he would turn around and leave it behind, never ever daring to look at it again.

"We're moving out."

"Moving out?" Misato questioned. "But Rei's in no condition to fight! We don't even have a pilot for it."

"One just arrived," Ritsuko coolly stated, before looking at Shinji, who looked darkly back at her.

"But…that's ludicrous! It took Rei 7 months to even being synchronising with Unit 01. What hope does Shinji have right off the bat?"

"He doesn't need training; he just needs to sit in the cockpit. That's all that we need from him."

"That's all that you need from me?" Shinji harshly whispered. "Just to be a part of some greater scheme? That's what you want from me?!" The last part he bellowed out as he looked up angrily at his father.

"You call me all the way down here, just so that you can use me as a simple component that will make that thing run?!"

"A critical component to be correct," Gendo replied in the same cool tone.

"Well this component is defective! I won't be your puppet in your sick games you hear me?! You destroyed my childhood! What chances do you think that I will allow you to ruin my teenage life, huh?!" Misato could only stare in awe at the level of anger in his eyes. He truly hated the man for ruin his childhood and was not willing to let him ruin another part of his life. A part of her began to wonder what would have happened had she stepped up at a certain point in her life. What would have happened, she could only guess.

"Besides, I am the Third Children right?" he hoarsely whispered, his anger nearing its end. "What about the First or Second Children aren't they more qualified than I am? Or am I the only thing you have left?"

"At present yes," was the cold reply. "If you do not pilot, all of humanity will perish."

"Why don't you just take Unit 01 and shove it up your ass," Shinji whispered angrily, the drain of exerting one's anger beginning to affect him.

"Very well, go home, coward," Gendo coldly replied before he turned to a screen. "Fuyutsuki, wake Rei."

"Can you use her?" a worried voice replied on the other end.

"She's not dead. Have her transported here."

Below Shinji merely stared at his father for a moment longer before he turned, fully prepared to leave all this behind. His mind worked in overdrive as he processed what had happened today. He had come knowing full well that his father only wanted to use him. He had arrived to the city to see the military fight some sort of demon, rode with Misato and stealing car batteries to fix her car, seen the geo-front, met Ritsuko and Evangelion Unit 01, and then had a pointless argument with his father and all for the sole purpose for him to pilot the machine? No! He had enough and was prepared to leave. As he started to walk across the bridge a door opened as it revealed a gurney with someone lying atop it and two doctors wheeling it forward.

As it passed him his eyes fell upon the person on it. His mind instantly connected the girl on the gurney to the mirage he had seen earlier. The same porcelain skin and blue hair, delicately framing her face girl now had a face connected. The girl had piercing crimson eyes that seemed to delve deep into one's sole. In any circumstances he would have mentally commented on her beauty. How her soft curves and endowment radiated a sense of angelic presence, and tranquility. Instead he was given the sight of a girl dressed in a skin-tight body suit with her arms bare, the left arm in bandages while her right arm was in a cast. Her head was also covered in bandages with her right eye hidden from the world. He felt sorry for the girl, but he had no place in this world and continued his way out. However before he could take as much as five steps from where he stood when he yelled at his father, he heard something that stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Please not again…"

Shinji immediately turned around and faced the girl on the other side of the bridge. He knew he heard the girl spoke, and it was one of sorrow, fear, and apprehension. Although he didn't see her face, her voice was laced in fear to go into the machine, what seemed to be again for her. He watched as the girl tried to get up. She gasped in pain as she moved her body, using her somewhat good arm to support herself from falling off the bed. Her face contorted greatly as pain throughout her body ripped through her, dulling all other sense within her. Slowly getting off the gurney she stood upon the bridge unsteadily and looked right at him. Shinji felt his heart stop cold at her gaze.

He saw pain in her eyes. He saw the look of hurt, not only from her injuries, but from what she was about to do. He saw her sorrow of piloting the unit in such a stated, and how she felt hurt from the fact he was going to walk away, leaving her to pilot it in his stead. However what got to him was the silent plea she was crying out. She didn't want to pilot the machine in such a state, and was silently asking him to reconsider and pilot as had originally been intended.

Gendo above could only watch in worry about the scene before him. Even from his standpoint he could clearly see the emotions playing through her eyes and the look she was giving Shinji. He was not pleased with what he saw and would have to act upon what he saw soon, less he'd have a problem in the scenario. He had his equation all figured out and the last thing he needed was a new variable that he could not equate out of the equation. He would have to ensure that the unknown would be dealt with before things became out of hand for him. That for sure he knew and would ensure happen.

Taking Shinji's unresponsive state as a sign of negativity, the girl turned dejectedly and began the slow painful climb to Unit 01's cockpit. Shinji helplessly watched the girl limp towards the machine, while his mind was in turmoil. Part of his mind argued that it wasn't his problem and that he should just leave and slip away into oblivion and never come back, while the better part of him tried to keep himself in control, and remind himself how he had did things to help people, so that they could go on knowing things will be brighter in the future. He had wanted to allow others to live well, so that they could live a good life for him, knowing that his life was forever in shambles, never to be repaired. His mind raged endlessly even as the complex rocked, never really paying attention to his surroundings until he saw something that finalised his decision.

During the explosions the girl had collapsed and was crying in pain, no one moving to help her. However what set off his mind was when he realized that several lights were about to fall upon her. Acting instinctively Shinji bolted straight towards her praying that he would be able to save her. Although in reality the possibility of him saving the girl was zero he fought against the odds and ran as fast as his legs could carry. He prayed for whatever power there was out there to save her, even if it was at the cost of his own. As if answering his prayers out of the water that Unit 01 was immersed in, its left hand came up and shielded her from the falling lights, one of them sent flying towards the chamber Gendo stood, watching the scene before him.

Mentally thanking Unit 01 Shinji ran up towards her and gently picked her up, cradling her in his arms, trying to bring small comfort to her. Noticing something wet on his hands, he looked at one of them to see it stained in her blood. Looking down at her he could see the pain she was in. Her bodied writhed as her face contorted itself, as the pain ripped through her, eating away at her.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Shinji whispered to the girl, holding her close, trying to bring some small comfort to her.

"Please…help me…" she weakly pleaded, looking right at him.

"I'll do it, for you…" Shinji quietly stated, as he lifted her up.

"May I ask for your identification?" she asked as he laid her down.

"Third Children Ikari Shinji," he replied. "And you?"

"First Children, Ayanami Rei," she replied back. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he kindly replied before looking up at his father once more. "I'll do it you lying bastard! I'll pilot the damn thing!" Gendo merely smirked and walked away. Ritsuko then approached the boy, and took him away to help him prepare for battle, while the two doctors who brought Red up wheeled back towards the elevator. As Rei watching Shinji as best she could, her mind found thought about what had just transpired. Today for the first time she had used words of gratitude, and words of distress. Thinking back a bit, she realized she had never used them for 'that' person in her life.

Soon Shinji waited patiently in a tubular object called an entry as he thought about the girl he had helped. He could see the helplessness in her eyes and yet he didn't act on it until it was too late. He was ashamed of himself and curse and wondered why he didn't act sooner. Maybe he wouldn't have started to bleed if he had acted the moment he had heart her speak in fear about piloting Unit 01. Although disappointed in himself he also recalled seeing the relief in her eyes and the fact she no longer had to pilot, although was surprised he didn't seeing much of anything else. All he was relief and gratitude. There was no joy, no happiness in her eyes, just relief. It made her wonder if there was something wrong with her. He had many questions about her, and he made it a point to see her at some time after the battle.

His train of thought suddenly cut off from a jolt brought on a new train of thoughts as the plug began to light up as he felt the plug twist into something, figuring to be some sort of socket on Unit 01. Soon the plug began to flood with a viscous orange liquid which someone called LCL. In a panic he began to struggle against the restraints as he asked what the material was. Although assured it would directly oxygenate his blood directly once in his lungs, he distrusted the woman's word and help his breath as long as he could. But like any human he reacted instinctively and gasped for air inhaling the LCL in. What he got instead when he inhaled the liquid was the feeling of his lungs being constantly filled with oxygen consistently without the need to breathe. However he nearly gagged at the foul coppery taste of the liquid, along with the familiar smell of something he's smelled before, but couldn't figure out.

Shinji felt his moment of truth near as he felt the Evangelion begin to move. Throughout the whole experience so far all he heard were things such as second contact, third contact, a 50 exact sync ratio, and a lot of other things, but were far from the reaches of his active mind. After calming down, and putting all thoughts aside Shinji began to wonder why he was needed to pilot such a thing. Why was he piloting it when an adult would be more suitable for battle? His mind worked to understand the situation when it dawned upon him. He soon realized that it was probably something only he, Rei, and a select others could do, and perhaps to his horror, it could only be done by children.

Time seemed to rush by past him so quick for he soon realized that he had completely undocked from the cages and had reached the elevators that would take him up to the surface where he would meet his maker, the cause of all this trouble. Steeling himself for battle Shinji wondered what would happen. After now there would be no going back. Tonight would make or break the city. Controlling his breathing Shinji tried best he could to preparing his mind for battle. Although never been in a fight before Shinji couldn't truly grasp the concept of what it would be like to fight. He could holy hope he did well enough to hold out on his own and be able to defend the city from such destruction. That was his plan that was his hope. However his intensions fell upon the girl that now resided deeper below hopefully resting. His actions tonight would be for her, and then he would leave. He fought tonight for her, and that would be it.

"Evangelion Unit 01 launch!" Misato bellowed. Instantly the elevator bolted upwards and began its decent. As it rose through the shafts Shinji felt the g-force pushing him down into the seat, nearly crushing him. As fast as the ride started it came to an abrupt end, slamming Shinji's legs into the restraints, and snapping Unit 01's head to attention.

"Evangelion lift off!" Misato declared, releasing the final locks that bound Unit 01's arms and shoulders. Now free from such restraints and how on his own, he did what he felt was right. He immediately ducked aside as the angel opened fire upon him, destroying the elevator shaft he had been standing on moments ago. Now spurring with the moment and absorbing his surroundings he already knew he would have to get the beast out of the area before he could do anything. The last thing he needed was collateral damage to add to the problem. Therefore acting on instinct, Unit 01 came out from its hiding place and charged forward, with the full intension of getting the being out of the city.

"I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away," Shinji muttered to himself, fighting his ever growing desire to abandon those under his father and leave them to their doom. However his desires to at least spare Rei from this battle fought equally hard to keep him in the battle. Attaining best speeds Unit 01 rammed itself into the Angel grabbing a hold of it, and began a sprint towards the edge of the city in order to get it away from the city, and from harming others. However Shinji's plans were cut short by almost 100km due to a sudden snap tripping Unit 01. Looking behind him he saw that there was a cable attached to him that was taut.

"A cable?" Shinji wondered aloud.

"Yes, that's the umbilical cable for the Evangelion which powers it," Ritsuko explained. "Without it you would only be able to operate for 5 minutes, 1 minute operating at maximum capacity."

"I guess I'll disconnect and-" he never got to finish his sentence when he realized his head had been caught in the angel's grasp and was lifted above the ground. Raising his left arm to strike the angel it grabbed a hold of the offending appendage and pulled it away from the main body while applying pressure. Shinji screamed in pain as his arm lit up in excruciating pain. Feeling like his arm was being crushed and pulled at the same time; Shinji came to realize that somehow whatever happened to the Eva, he would feel it. In short he knew he had to avoid getting hit if he didn't want to get hurt.

"Misato-san I need a weapon," Shinji demanded, gritting his teeth trying to fight off the pain.

"Think about accessing the Prog Knife and it will respond accordingly," Ritsuko calmly replied. Doing as instructed Shinji focused his mind on accessing the Prog Knife. Feeling something opening up on his right shoulder, he cracked open his eyes to see a knife sticking out of the shoulder fin. Grabbed it, he turned it around so the blade faced down, he slammed his blade down as hard as he could into the flesh above what appeared to be the creature's two faces. Although unsure if it could cry out in pain it violently writhed under the pressure of the blade its grip lessened along with its pull, dulling the pain. Seeing his actions causing something he withdrew the blade and struck again, causing another violent response from the creature, forcing it to release his arm. Withdrawing the blade for a third strike his head suddenly overrode his will to strike as his senses became overwhelmed by pain. Looking forward a dull glow from the creatures hand intensified and dimmed with the passing of each impact against the head. Consumed by such pain Shinji grasped his face with his hands, crying out painfully as the Angel continued its assault. No longer able to withstand the barrage the armour buckled and cracked as the lance within the creature's hand broke through, sending the Evangelion careening across the city its impact indenting a building. As the lance released Unit 01's head from its grasp, the Evangelion's head drooped over as the exit and entry wounds released a fountain of blood; pooling on the ground below and staining the building wall behind. Suddenly loosing interesting in its prey the Angel shrugged off its presence and resumed its course.

While trying to grasp what had occurred and trying to stay conscious Shinji's ears vaguely registered all that was around them. He heard thunderous roars, shrill sirens, and a cacophony of angry voices as they tried to keep him conscious. All these and much more poured through into his audio receptors yet remained unprocessed as they failed to reach the brain. As Shinji felt himself lose his concentration one particular set of words set off his mind.

"The Angel has penetrated through into the Geo-Front! Power to the Medical Ward has been cut off!"

Shinji bolted up right as he suddenly found himself in bed. Adrenaline suddenly rushing through his body Shinji panicked and looked around. Slowly absorbing what his eyes told him his mind began to assess that he wasn't in a cockpit of sorts and wasn't in battle. Slowly calming down he collapsed upon his bed and looked up at the ceiling above him. As he laid there he began to contemplate all that had happened and began to wonder if it all had been a dream, and that he had hurt himself badly somewhere down the road. All of the things he had been asked to do had been quite extraordinary that none of them could have been possibly real. The idea that there would be such creatures reaching the heights of almost 100ft were virtually impossible, along with whatever it was he had been sitting in. Yet he felt somewhat disappointed as he had wanted to know who that girl was beyond her name.

"Ayanami…Rei," Shinji whispered to himself. The name felt foreign on his tongue in but sounded alluring. Her beauty had long captivated him but he had no time to really process what he had seen until now. Looking around he saw that none of his belongings were near him nor did the room show any sign that any visitors had made any appearances. Wondering what could be going on Shinji climbed out of bed and walked out of the room, gasping at the sight before him.

Looking out the window that lined the hallways his eyes met the blissful view of the Geo-Front. Slowly comprehending his surroundings Shinji carefully approached the window and gazed upon the quiet, serene, tranquil forest before him, as the lake just up ahead glistened gently in the light of the dawn. Looking up his eyes viewed a large hole revealing the clear cloudless sky above. Looking ahead he saw what had appeared to have been the results of battle, along with what looked like crews trying to clean up whatever damage that had been caused from the battle, and from what he could tell an explosion.

Lost in his thoughts Shinji nearly missed the squeaking of an approaching gurney. Turning towards the sound his eyes widened in surprise as his body seized up under the careful gaze from the crimson orbs of Rei. Raising her left arm, she signalled for the gurney to stop, and with a wave asked for her to leave her be. Looking into her eyes Shinji felt nervous under her stare, as she carefully analysed him, scrutinised him, examined him, trying to discern who and what he was. What felt like an eternity in reality a moment, Rei's calm unemotional face broke into a small smile.

"Arigatou Ikari-kun," Rei quietly spoke. Shinji felt his heart his heart skip a beat as he heard her speak. Now no longer under the pressure of keeping her safe he found her voice quite pleasant. Her voice felt divine, angelic, as if she had been given the voice of an angel and provide soft, comforting tones for those who needed such voices to sooth their battered souls.

Shinji smiled pleasantly at her as he stood right next to her and said, "Your welcome, Ayanami-san." Since the days of his childhood, he felt for once he was at peace. For once he felt that all was right with the world.

**So you're thoughts? I know that Shinji, and Rei are a bit OOC but this is a different reality. However don't worry some of Shinji's cowardly nature will still rise but not as dominant, nor will his angry side that had shown itself will make constant appearances.**

**But then again I feel that this will show possible ways Shinji and the others could have grown and developed throughout the story, and then combine it into one possible life that they could have gone through. Whether I'll be using the Anime or the Manga angel line-up I have yet to decide.**

**Well anyways, that's all from me**

**Cheers Ja ne**


End file.
